Cattigan family call for inquiry following her death

THE family of Scotland international Siobhan Cattigan have called for an independent inquiry into her death, saying undetected rugby-related brain damage caused a “catastrophic decline” in the 26-year-old's health before she died last November.

The Cattigan family, who have launched legal action against Scottish Rugby and World Rugby, released a statement saying: “As a family grieving for our beloved Siobhan, we have been shocked and distressed by the recent actions of the SRU. We cannot understand why the SRU are resisting an independent inquiry into the circumstances leading up to Siobhan's death. We believe this is the best way for the facts to emerge.”

Their statement added that the family feel Scottish Rugby's treatment of them has been “callous and uncaring” since the death of Cattigan, who won 19 caps between 2018 and 2021.

“No one from the SRU has been in direct contact with us since February and the organisation is now taking active steps to discredit our version of events,” they added.

Scottish Rugby said recently it would not support an external inquiry and that court may be “the most appropriate” place to discover the facts.

At its annual meeting in August, Scottish Rugby officials spoke of the "heartbreaking" story and "extremely disturbing" account from the Cattigans, who had reported that they had noticed a significant and alarming change in their daughter's personality following brain injuries they say she suffered while representing Scotland.

Ahead of next Saturday's game against the USA in Edinburgh, Scotland's women squad released a statement saying how much Cattigan meant to them as a “kind and loving team-mate” but stressed that they felt supported by their parent body's medical team.